Fighting to Godhood, Only to Be Crushed by a Betrothal Gift

Tang San pressed his fingers into the center of the altar, and golden divine light exploded from his palms.

The Sea God Hall was shaking.

It wasn't just the walls and pillars; the entire island, the vast ocean, and even the fractured divine soul patterns within his own body were trembling in unison.

Pain.

It was still pain.

Yet this time, the pain carried a sense of euphoria that nearly drove him mad.

He had finally arrived.

From crawling out of the Capital of Slaughter to fighting his way through Sea God Island, his divine soul had been shattered and mended, his meridians snapped and reconnected. His father's severed arm, the golden light of Martial Soul City, and every piece of the betrothal gift on Hu Liena—all of it weighed heavily upon his back.

He could not retreat.

He had no right to retreat.

Golden light rose from the perimeter of the altar, spiraling upward in rings, lifting Tang San into the center.

The Sea God Trident hovered before him. The cracks on its shaft had completely healed, and blue-gold patterns glowed from the tip to the base, the humming vibration causing dust to shower down from the vaulted ceiling of the hall.

Yu Xiaogang stood outside the hall doors, his legs turning to jelly under the crushing weight of that divine might.

He wanted to call out "San'er," but his throat felt blocked, and he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Is this what a god is?

The disciple he had taught was truly about to become a god.

Yet as Yu Xiaogang looked at the figure in the center of the altar, a cold sweat broke out on his back.

It was too cold.

The aura radiating from Tang San was too cold.

It was not like the sea.

It was not like the sea that encompassed all things.

It was more like an abyss, soaked in blood and then frozen solid.

Above the altar, blue-gold light particles coalesced once more.

The towering phantom of the Sea God took form for the final time.

A thirty-foot-tall figure stood before Tang San, holding the Sea God Trident, divine armor shimmering with flowing light, its features too majestic to be clearly discerned.

Those eyes lowered, fixing upon Tang San.

Tang San looked up.

He knew this was the final step.

As long as this will acknowledged him, he would be the new Sea God of the Douluo Continent.

No longer a Tang Sect disciple whose fortune was suppressed by the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron.

No longer the weakling forced to watch his father lose an arm to the Severing Thought Sword.

No longer the man who could only watch Hu Liena grow stronger step by step, unable to do anything about it.

He would stand on the same level.

No.

He would stand even higher.

"Tang San."

The Sea God phantom spoke, its voice drowning out the surging waves outside the hall.

"You have passed all the trials of the Sea God."

Tang San's fingers clenched tightly.

It was here.

He had waited too long for these words.

Since the Ninth Trial began, every time the power of the Sea God scoured his divine soul, he felt as though he would die.

But whenever he couldn't hold on, the night in Martial Soul City would flash through his mind.

His father kneeling in a pool of blood.

Two empty sleeves.

Hu Liena standing in the golden light, the Sword Mark on her wrist glowing.

And that Shen Yichen, who hadn't even shown his face.

That Celestial Master, sitting in a Stone Chamber on Tiandang Mountain, who could reduce him to such a pathetic state with a mere flick of his hand.

Tang San's chest heaved violently.

I cannot lose.

I absolutely cannot lose.

The voice of the Sea God's phantom continued to descend.

"From this day forth, you are the new Sea God of the Douluo Continent, wielding the authority of the oceans."

As the words fell.

The sky erupted in golden light.

The divine runes surrounding the altar lit up in unison, and the Sea God Trident jolted forward, transforming into a blue-gold streak of light that plunged straight into Tang San's palm.

Tang San curled his fingers.

He gripped it.

In that instant, the entire Sea God Hall was illuminated as if by daylight.

A pillar of light shot up from the center of the Sea God Hall, shattering the dome and piercing the clouds.

Ten thousand feet of waves across the sea surface bowed in unison, and the walls of water surrounding Sea God Island rippled outward, circle after circle, as if the entire ocean were bowing to its new god.

Tang San's divine soul was flooded with golden light.

Those cracks were healing.

One, two, three.

The power of the Sea God was forcibly poured into every fissure, mending his crumbling divine soul inch by inch.

The pain did not vanish; it was merely suppressed by a more overwhelming power.

He felt his soul power undergoing a metamorphosis.

No, it could no longer be called soul power.

Divine power.

True divine power.

Every inch of his flesh and blood was being reforged, and every bone felt as though it had been washed by the tides a thousand times over.

The Sea God Divine Armor took complete form upon his body; the crown, pauldrons, breastplate, gauntlets, belt, and greaves locked into place, piece by piece, seamless and perfect.

Tang San slowly opened his eyes.

Golden light swirled within his pupils.

Outside the hall, Yu Xiaogang was swept by that gaze, his knees buckling as he nearly collapsed to the ground.

"San'er..."

The name was finally called out.

It was impossibly hoarse.

Tang San did not respond immediately.

He stood up.

The moment his feet left the altar, the divine runes on the ground automatically retreated to the sides, as if clearing a path for him.

The Sea God Trident appeared in his palm—heavy, cold, yet perfectly fused with his divine soul.

This is power.

Tang San looked down at his own hands.

His fingers were encased in golden armor plates, with divine power flowing between the gaps.

If he wished, a single strike could overturn the ten thousand miles of sea surrounding Sea God Island.

This sensation made his entire body tremble.

Not from fear.

But from excitement.

It was the thrill of finally tearing through the shackles after being suppressed to the absolute limit.

"I have finally..."

Tang San's voice was very soft.

The next moment, he gripped the Sea God Trident tightly and slammed the butt of the weapon against the altar.

BOOM!

The entire hall shook violently once more.

"...become a god!"

The voice traveled out of the Sea God Hall, swept across the island, and pressed into the churning tides.

Yu Xiaogang gripped the doorframe, his eyes rimmed with red.

He succeeded.

He truly succeeded.

Yu Xiaogang had been mocked as trash his entire life, abandoned by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and trampled underfoot by the spirit master world, yet he had raised a god!

Who dared to call him trash anymore?

Who dared?!

"Good, very good..."

Yu Xiaogang's lips trembled; as he laughed, tears rolled down his cheeks.

"San, you finally succeeded."

Tang San turned his head and glanced at him.

There was not much warmth in that look.

At least, not the warmth Yu Xiaogang had imagined.

Tang San's mind was filled with only one thought now.

Return.

Fight his way back.

Settle every single debt, one by one.

Hu Liena.

Shen Yichen.

Martial Soul Hall.

And that damned Fate-Suppressing Cauldron.

Thinking of the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron, the smile on Tang San's face suddenly froze.

No.

He lowered his head, feeling the surging power of the Sea God within him.

His godhood was stable.

His divine core had formed.

The authority of the Sea God was in his grasp.

Yet, that heavy suppression remained.

Like an invisible cauldron, it still hung over his destiny, suppressing his fortune, suppressing his opportunities, and suppressing the divine path he was meant to ascend.

Tang San's eyelid twitched.

How could this be?

He had already become a god.

He was the Sea God now!

How could a mere betrothal gift from the lower realm still suppress him?

The power of the Sea God surged within him as Tang San attempted to forcibly break through that suppression.

The blue-gold divine power rushed up along his meridians, slamming into the heavy shadow deep within his destiny.

The next instant.

The backlash arrived.

Tang San's shoulders swayed, and a metallic, sweet taste surged into his throat.

He swallowed it back by force.

He could not spit it out.

At least, not in front of his master.

And certainly not at this very moment of becoming a god.

But the Sea God Trident in his palm creaked as he gripped it tightly.

The Fate-Suppressing Cauldron was still there.

Not only had that thing not been shattered by his divine power, but it seemed to have sensed his ascension and pressed down even more firmly.

Tang San's jaw tightened bit by bit.

A faint cracking sound came from his molars.

Yu Xiaogang sensed something was wrong, the joy on his face freezing.

"San? What's wrong?"

Tang San did not answer.

He closed his eyes, his divine sense spreading out.

The authority of the Sea God unfurled, crossing the seas, crossing the continent, and heading straight toward Martial Soul City.

Soon, he saw it.

Martial Soul City.

Pope Palace.

Backyard cultivation room.

The Star River Map hung above Hu Liena's head, the radiance of the Twenty-Eight Mansions pouring down.

The Tribulation-Avoiding Garment clung to her body, its Golden Toad patterns rising and falling slowly, blocking the divine might of the outside world three feet away.

She sat cross-legged in the center of the starlight, her five fox tails unfurled, her soul power aura climbing frantically.

Level eighty-eight.

Already level eighty-eight.

Tang San's mouth twitched.

Three months ago, she was only a Soul Saint.

Now, she was just one step away from becoming a Titled Douluo.

On what grounds?

Just because of the few betrothal gifts Shen Yichen had dumped on her?

Why did he, Tang San, have to fight until his divine soul shattered just to earn the position of Sea God today;

Yet Hu Liena sat in Martial Soul City, being pushed upward by one supreme treasure after another?

Unfair.

There had never been fairness in this world, but this time, Tang San found it absurd.

So absurd it made him want to laugh.

He actually laughed.

The laughter was low, suppressed in his throat, making Yu Xiaogang's back go cold.

"San'er..."

"Master."

Tang San interrupted him, his voice terrifyingly calm.

"I have become a god."

Yu Xiaogang nodded, forcing a difficult smile.

"Yes, you have become a god. You are the new Sea God of the Douluo Continent."

Tang San raised the Sea God Trident, the tip pointing toward the direction of the continent.

"But the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron is still suppressing me."

Yu Xiaogang's expression changed.

"What?"

"That second betrothal gift the Celestial Master gave to Hu Liena."

Tang San enunciated every word heavily.

"I have already become a god, yet it is still suppressing my destiny."

Yu Xiaogang's lips moved.

He wanted to say that was impossible.

How could the fate of a deity be suppressed by an object from the lower realm?

But as the words reached his lips, he remembered the previous heavenly betrothal gifts.

Primordial Spirit Bead.

Fate-Suppressing Cauldron.

Severing Thought Sword.

Star River Map.

Tribulation-Avoiding Garment.

Which one of these looked like an object from the lower realm?

Which one of them had ever followed reason?

Yu Xiaogang suddenly didn't know how to advise him.

Tang San looked into the distance, the golden light in his eyes stained with a growing chill.

"Hu Liena."

The name spilled from his lips, carrying the scent of blood.

"Shen Yichen."

The second name was even heavier.

The Sea God Trident hummed, the entire sea area suppressed by its resonance until the waves churned violently.

"I have become a god."

Tang San lifted his foot and stepped off the altar.

With every step he took, the ground shattered into powder.

"Let's see what you can do now!"